Search still on for man swept away by Pembina River

Emergency services personnel and search and rescue teams continue to search the Pembina River in eastern Barrhead County in hopes of finding a second man who was swept away by the river on Sept. 27.

Barrhead’s Bernard Wierzba, 44, remains missing six days after he went under the water while trying to cross the river near the Manola bridge. The body of 28-year-old Lloyd Vorman was recovered at around 6:15 p.m. on Sept. 28.

Shortly after 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 27, Wierzba, Vorman and a third man attempted to cross the river at a shallow spot near the Manola bridge, said Westlock RCMP Cpl. Dave Casey at the scene. Halfway across, they found themselves in waist-deep water, he said, when one went under. Another man tried to help the first, but he was also pulled under.

The third man in the group managed to get to shore and call 911 almost immediately after Vorman and Wierzba disappeared, said Westlock RCMP Cpl. Sandra Milner.

A search was started to locate the two men, and included members of the Barrhead RCMP, fire department and ambulance service. In addition, STARS flew over the scene to provide an air search, as did a neighbouring individual in a fixed-wing aircraft, Casey said. Klondike Trail Search and Rescue also provided ground search assistance.

At around 8 p.m. that night, an RCMP helicopter was on scene equipped with night-vision cameras to aid in the search, but found nothing. The search was called off by Barrhead acting fire chief Les Goertz at about 8:45 p.m.

On Sept. 28, the search resumed with the help of Alberta Fish and Wildlife. In addition, the Northern Alberta Aquatic Rescue Society dive team was called in to perform an in-water search. It was during that search that they found Vorman’s body.

The search continued both on land and in the water on Sept. 29, in the same area where Vorman was found. The search area was also expanded for about five miles upstream and one mile downstream, Milner said. Underwater efforts were hampered by only eight inches of visibility and cold water.

Close to a week after Weirzba went missing, Milner said the search has moved from a rescue to a recovery mission. Searchers have been on the scene for almost every daylight hour since Tuesday, she said, searching neighbouring properties and speaking to landowners.

She said at this point, police are getting ready to reexamine their search strategy in terms of where they should actually be looking. She added it’s also possible the dive team won’t return to the scene, but that’s still up for discussion.